Mr Holmes and Miss Hooper - a Sherlolly Story

Chapter 7

"Actually I would."

"Well, just be patient, Miss Hooper. We'll be there soon enough. This way."

He grabbed her hand and pulled her to the right, ducking and weaving between trees and bushes. Both blushed at the connection but tried their best not to show it, content with the fact that the other hadn't pulled away. Sherlock hopped over a brown fence and turned to help Molly over. She looked at him, puzzled. The pause was enough for Sherlock to act and he reached over and wrapped his hands around Molly's waist, easily lifting her over the fence and depositing her gracefully back onto her feet. He turned away from her and didn't notice her flushed cheeks.

"Okay, here. This is where I go."

Molly looked around a huge clearing, a field she was sure was no longer on school grounds. It was beautifully green with the odd dots of white daisies sprouting up from the ground, the left-hand side was lined with hedges and rose bushes, and on the right-hand side sat a lone, large willow tree just in front of the rear of a row of small cottages. It was magnificent. Molly hadnt thought she'd ever find anything so picturesque within the bustles of London.

"Wow. Sherlock, this is- this is beautiful."

"Isn't it?"

Molly smiled at him before running ahead. Spinning around and laughing, she let her inner child roam free and felt, for a moment, as if she belonged in a Disney film. Sherlock watched her enjoying herself and couldn't help but notice that she was far more beautiful than this quaint clearing he appreciated so dearly. She turned back to him with a smile on her face, and, in a moment of courage, held her hand out to him. He immediately moved to take it and walked them over to the willow tree. Once they reached it, Sherlock let go of Molly's hand (quite reluctantly) and sat against the bark, after a second Molly joined him.

"This is it. My little spot of tranquillity. No kids, no teachers-"

"Just you."

He shook his head but smiled at Molly's input, he took her hand again,

"Just us."

She blushed and smiled, looking away from him. He reached for her face and placed a finger under her chin, bringing her beautiful eyes back to his own. He brushed her hair from her face and looked down, Molly just stared up at the amazing man in front of her. Sherlock handed her her box of food and she smiled, taking it from him. He opened his own and they began to eat together.

Molly silently began to tuck into her sandwich, happy to sit and admire the view around her. Sherlock, too, had opened his sandwich but was far too distracted by Molly to take a bite. She looked magnificent curled up next to him, her emerald jumper and yellow blouse combination would probably repulse him if it were anybody else, but on Molly it was stunning. The colours brought out her sparkling brown eyes and her hair glowed in the sunlight. She simply was just beautiful. And he simply had to tell her.

"Molly." Her name was barely a breath on his lips.

She swallowed, Sherlock wasn't sure if it was food or nerves.

"Yes?" Nerves. Definitely nerves.

"I-" he stopped himself, and shifted so he was closer to Molly, she was sitting with her legs bent up in front of her slight frame. She looked so cute and so vulnerable, he was once again flooded with that urgent need to protect her. He placed one hand on the ground between them and leant into her, she smiled shyly at him while he moved,

"I-I think- damn I'm useless at this."

He looked away from her, how did he always manage to muck these things up? No wonder Mycroft always told him sentiment was a chemical defect found on the losing side, and that caring was a disadvantage. It was all so difficult to navigate! He was pulled from his thoughts when Molly brushed her hand against his, still resting between them on the floor.

"Sherlock? Hey, what's wrong?" She moved her head to try and catch his eyes and he shifted so he could face her more, "You can tell me."

She smiled at him, a soft and comforting smile and he used it to give him the strength to say what we wanted to.

"Molly."

"Sherlock?"

"I think ... I think you're beautiful."

She flushed red from head to toe and stared down into her food. She managed to stammer out a timid thank you, and silently prayed for her blush to go away.

"I just, I thought you should know."

She smiled at him and he smiled back, she kept her hand brushing lightly against his and they fell into easy conversation.

"So, how did you find this place?"

"By accident really. I just stumbled across it one day when I was walking and trying to clear my head. I was working on a difficult case at the time, and the children's persistent questions weren't helping, so I wandered off. I nearly fell over that fence I was so deep inside my head." She giggled at that and he felt warmth spread through him.

"Does it ever get too much? The cases on top of everything else?"

"Once. When I was younger. Before I got into teaching. I fell into a dark place, got involved in the wrong things, but I got quite forcefully pulled out the other side when I met John Watson."

"He's the one the runs that blog, right? Loo reads it." Sherlock chuckled, everybody knew about that damn blog.

"The one and only." He paused to look at her, "I'd like you to meet him sometime. I think you'd like him, and I can already tell you and Mary, his wife, could become very close friends." She smiled.

"Yeah, I'd like that."

He beamed at her,

"Well then, that's what we'll do the next time your sister bails on you."

She laughed,

"We don't have to wait for that. I like spending time with you, Sherlock."

She averted her gaze in fear of embarrassment,

"And I you, Molly." They shared a look, "maybe you could even bail on her for me." He joked.

"You know what, maybe I will."

Sherlock looked down at his watch.

"Well, we best get going back."

"I really like it here, Sherlock. Thank you for sharing it with me."

"I like having you here with me actually, it makes it even more calming."

She felt her cheeks heating up once again and chastised herself. Was being flustered the only emotion she could convey around this man?

Sherlock took a deep breath and went all in, "How about we make this a regular thing? You, me, some food and this clearing go quite well together. Perhaps we could come more often? Not every day, obviously, as I know you have other friends but-"

She placed a hand on his jaw and ghosted her thumb over his lips to stop his rambling,

"Yeah, I'd like that. I'd take this," she gestured between them before realising what she was doing, quickly correcting the movement to include the entire clearing, "over smelly canteens and Mike and Meena's flirting any day." He laughed and stood up holding out a hand to her. She took it gratefully and he helped her up.

He had no intentions of dropping that hand throughout the entire walk back to the school.